July 16, 2025
by dr Angela Hefti Introduction In Switzerland, every two weeks a woman is killed, and women experience disproportionately high levels of domestic violence. Femi(ni)cide is not only a Latin American problem, although the term gained prominence in relation to the disappearance, rape and murders of women in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. Femicide is a systemic issue […]
July 15, 2025
By Cathérine Van de Graaf and Beril Onder *** To celebrate the 15th anniversary of the Strasbourg Observers Blog, we organised an in-person symposium with scholars, practitioners, and members of the ECtHR on 8–9 May 2025 in Ghent. Connecting in person with so many regular contributors was a wonderful experience and led to engaging dialogue […]
July 11, 2025
By Anaïs Brucher *** To celebrate the 15th anniversary of the Strasbourg Observers Blog, we organised an in-person symposium with scholars, practitioners, and members of the ECtHR on 8–9 May 2025 in Ghent. Connecting in person with so many regular contributors was a wonderful experience and led to engaging dialogue with current and former judges […]
July 09, 2025
By Thomas Spijkerboer The Court’s inadmissibility decision of 12 June 2025 in S.S. and Others v. Italy is the end of a story that began 3.140 days before.
July 08, 2025
By Lize Glas 1. Central argument Some seventy percent of the cases pending before the Committee of Ministers (CM) are repetitive. These cases are caused by the same structural problem as other cases already pending execution. The number of applications assigned to a judicial formation of the Court tells a similar story: about eighty percent […]
July 04, 2025
by Moritz Baumgärtel NB: An extended version of this blog post will be published in the edited volume Race, Racism and the European Convention on Human Rights, edited by Vandita Khanna and Kirsty Hughes (Hart Publishing, forthcoming) *** To celebrate the 15th anniversary of the Strasbourg Observers Blog, we organised an in-person symposium with scholars, […]
July 02, 2025
By Lorena Sosa The case of I.C. v. The Republic of Moldova intersects with two strands of ECtHR jurisprudence: (1) the Court’s developing understanding of sexual violence, rape and sexual exploitation, and (2) its evolving anti-stereotyping framework, particularly regarding persons with disabilities. Against the backdrop of landmark rulings, this judgment further enriches the Court’s often […]
July 01, 2025
Dr. Marialena Tsirli *** A note from the team: To celebrate the 15th anniversary of the Strasbourg Observers Blog, we organised an in-person symposium with scholars, practitioners, and members of the ECtHR on 8–9 May 2025 in Ghent. Connecting in person with so many regular contributors was a wonderful experience and led to engaging dialogue […]
June 27, 2025
By Babette De NaeyerAnd so it begins: online disinformation measures have reached Strasbourg. A lot has already been written about the threats of, and possible regulatory responses to the current ‘infodemic’ and the broader challenges mis- and disinformation pose to our communication landscape. Concerns about how malicious actors exploit social media algorithms to spread so-called […]
June 24, 2025
by Harriet Ní Chinnéide Introduction Tergek v. Türkiye concerned a blanket ban on prisoners receiving any internet printouts or photocopied documents, based solely on their format. The Court found that the ban constituted a proportionate restriction on the applicant’s right to receive information under Article 10 ECHR largely because reviewing a large volume of printed […]
June 20, 2025
Eloïse Ward In Ships Waste Oil Collector B.V. and Others v Netherlands, the applicant companies alleged that the transmission of data intercepted during criminal investigations to the Competition Authority violated their rights to private life under Article 8. The substance of this case raises important questions about what safeguards against arbitrariness are adequate when data […]
June 17, 2025
By Harriet Ní Chinnéide and Eva Sevrin On 22 May 2025, a coalition of nine European states, spearheaded by Denmark and Italy, issued an open letter calling for a shift in the European Court of Human Rights’ (ECtHR) interpretative approach in the field of migration and in cases concerning ‘irregular migration’ and the expulsion of […]
June 13, 2025
By Jernej Letnar Černič The global financial crisis from 2008 to 2014 led to several bank bankruptcies worldwide and pushed many others to the brink of collapse. The crisis was exacerbated by the mismanagement of bank funds, as banks in many European countries, such as Iceland, Slovenia, and Spain, among others, approved loans without sufficient […]
June 10, 2025
By Dr. Katarzyna Sękowska-Kozłowska The judgment in X v. Cyprus of 27 February 2025 marks a significant contribution to the European Court of Human Rights’ developing anti-stereotyping approach in cases of sexual violence. While building on its earlier judgments, particularly J.L. v. Italy (commented on here), which exposed victim-blaming stereotypes and re-victimisation, it brings added […]
June 06, 2025
by Igor Mirzakhanyan In an unprecedented development before the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), both Armenia and Azerbaijan have expressed their intention to withdraw all pending interstate applications submitted against each other. As part of their ongoing peace negotiations following the 2020-2023 hostilities, the two countries have reportedly committed not only to discontinuing their […]
June 03, 2025
by Gunay Ismayilova Introduction On 6 March 2025, the European Court of Human Rights (hereinafter, the Court) delivered its judgment in Hasani v. Sweden, addressing the State’s positive obligations under Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights to protect individuals when the risk to a person derives from self-harm. Although the Court ultimately […]
May 30, 2025
by Dr. Betül Durmuş Introduction Over the summer, Bulgaria and Georgia adopted their own ‘anti-gay propaganda laws’ prohibiting dissemination of information concerning sexual orientation or gender identity, under the guise of protecting children. And, on 19 November 2024, the Court of Justice of the European Union held a hearing on the infringement proceedings against Hungary’s […]
May 27, 2025
By Alain Zysset The key feature of an anxious-avoidant attachment style is the ambivalence between seeking connection and seeking withdrawal. This can lead to inconsistent behaviours towards partners, displaying excessive closeness one time and abruptly retreating from the relationship the next time. There are analogous traits of an anxious-avoidant attachment style in the Court’s reasoning […]
May 23, 2025
By Lorenzo Acconciamessa On 29 April 2025 the Grand Chamber issued its ruling in the case of Mansouri v. Italy, which concerned the lawfulness and conditions of an alien’s confinement on board a private ship, used to return him to his country of departure on the basis of a refusal-of-entry order. As regards the applicant’s […]
May 20, 2025
By Hanim Schnabel In P v. Poland, the ECtHR ruled by 4 votes to 3 that the dismissal of a homosexual secondary school teacher for, inter alia, writing a blog for adults with some sexually explicit content violated Article 10 of the Convention. Without taking a stance on whether the dismissal actually pursued a legitimate […]